Maritime Center under new leadership

July 1, 2013

MARTINSBURG - Evaluating his past three years as commanding officer for the National Maritime Center, Capt. Anthony Lloyd feels both pride and relief in passing command to Capt. Jeffrey Novotny.

Lloyd formally transferred command of the National Maritime Center in Martinsburg to Novotny Friday at a U.S. Coast Guard change of command ceremony.

"The change of command ceremony is a revered military tradition which formally restates the continuity and authority of command. The ceremony is a transfer of total responsibility, authority and accountability from one individual to another," said Ike Eisentrout, deputy director for the NMC.

Article Photos

Journal photo by Samantha CronkCapt. Anthony Lloyd with the U.S. Coast Guard reflects on his three years as commanding officer for the National Maritime Center in Martinsburg before passing on the position in a formal change of command ceremony.

The National Maritime Center is the only federal agency in the United States that issues credentials to everyone who works in any capacity on any commercial vessel that carries passengers or freight for hire.

The center evaluates and issues more than 60,000 merchant mariner credentials in a year in support of the nation's 216,000 merchant mariners.

"People apply for a passport, a pilot license, a truck driver license and sometimes that takes a long time. We've compared ourselves to those and we think we compare favorably, if not one of the better modes for issuing credentials. It wasn't always that way," Lloyd said.

Throughout his three years as NMC commanding officer, Lloyd said he endeavored to enhance the agency's internal strength and efficiency to reduce the average length of the credentialing process.

Lloyd additionally sought to increase outreach efforts after relocating from the facility in Kearneysville to the center's location in Martinsburg in 2008.

"I think there was a misunderstanding as we changed and what was actually going on. So I made a big effort to go out and explain it to people. I'm very proud of how we've continued to increase the knowledge of the role of the National Maritime Center," Lloyd said.

After passing command to Novotny, Lloyd received his new orders as a commanding officer with a response unit.

After the ceremony, it was with a wide smile that Lloyd expressed his relief and joy for a job well done.

"It feels great, because I know we did a great job. We made a lot of improvements. It's healthy for a unit to have a public change in their authority like this. It's good for the unit, and it's obviously good for Captain Novotny. I actually feel better today than I thought I would," Lloyd said.

The reins of leadership now reside with Novotny. It's an opportunity he said he has been striving to achieve.

"This was at the top of my list. I'm very excited to be here and serve as the commanding officer. I plan to continue the excellence that's been going on here," Novotny said.

-Staff writer Samantha Cronk can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 132, or twitter.com/scronkJN.